Tramway and the like rail.



, H. T. WAKE LAM. TRAMWAY AND THE LIKE RAIL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. I9l4.

Patented July 20, 1915.

S In $2717) web of the lower part. In the case of a rar A E i 10 HENRY TITUS WAKELAM, or WOODLAWN, "rn'nnIN 'roN, ENGLAND, AssIGNon TO THE memes.

nnrrrsn RAILWAY AND'TRAMWAY INTERCHANGEABLE RAIL COMPANY, LIMITED,

OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

,TRAMWA AND THE LIKE RAIL.

Specification of Letters Patent. 1 Patented July 20, 1915.

Application filed. January 26, 1914. Serial No. 814,498.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, HENRY Trr s WAKE- LAM, .a subject of the Kingdom of Great Britain, residing at Woodlawn, Teddington, in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented certain Improvements in or Relating to Tramway and the like Rails, of which the following is a specification.

This invention comprises certain improvements in orrelating to rails for railways and tramways, and is of the type in 'WhlCl'l the rail is formed in two parts,a lower part adapted to form the base or support for the rail, and an yupper part upon which the wheels run, the object being to permlt of the renewal-.or. interchanging. of the'upper part, as for instance after it llilS'bGCOIIlQ worn.

The present invention has for its purpose to generally improve such a rail with the object of strengthening it and rendering it better able to withstand the stresses to which it is subjected when in use.

According to the present invention the upper part of the rail is furnished with a web extending to the base of the lower part while the lower part of the rail is furnished with an upwardly projecting web extending nearly to the underside of the upper enlargement of the rail upon which the wheels run,

the said upstanding web from the lower part of the rail being disposed on the outer side of the rail, that is to say on the side thereof remote from the space between the two rails on which the vehicle runs. This arrangement very satisfactorily counteracts the tendency of the rail to break'or give way outwardly by the pressure of the flange of the wheel, the tendency in these circumstances being to press the upper part of the rail against the grooved tramway rail, the part of the rail which receives the lateral or bearing part of the wheel occupies a position above the depending web of the upper part of the rail, so that the weight is directly received by this web which rests upon the flange or base of the lower part of the rail. The groove In order that this invention may be clearly of the lower part b of the-rail, which latter 1 is furnished with the-upwardly projecting web '6 the latter being onthe outer side of the rail While the web a isbelow the part c of the rail which receives the face or bearing part of the wheel,the groove atof the railbeing disposed to the side of the web on the upper part remote from that at which the lower part occurs.

In connection with the engaging faces of the webs a 12 of the two parts a, b of the rail, I provide at the upper part of the face of the upper rail'secti'on, a longitudinal abutment a and further provide a similar longitudinal abutment on the lower part of the faceof the lower rail section, so that when the two webs a 6 are bolted together they engage only at the upper and lower extremities, but at these upper extremities con tinuously along the length of the rail. The

connecting bolts 0 pass through the intermediate parts of the webs between which a small space 0? is provided, and with this arrangepart of the upper rail section in order to insure that the weight is counteracted by the engagement of the lower extremity of the web a of the upper part with thebase. of the lower part 7) of the rail. In certain cases however it may be desirable to adapt the web of the lower section to extend to the enlarged part of the uppersection'to assist of the rail is disposed to the side of the webin supporting the latter, in which case the on the upper part, remote from that at? upper extremity of the web of the lower secwhich the web of the lower part occurs.

tion may be shaped to a form corresponding with that of the part of the upper rail section against which it bears.

The web a of the upper part a of the rail is enlarged at its lower extremity and provided with a lateral flange a the lower face being inclined upwardly from the center of the composite rail, while a suitable formation of the base of the lower rail section is provided with an incline adapted to conform with this inclined face of the lower extremity of the upper rail section. By this arrangement downward pressure upon the upper rail section a tends by virtue of the inclined surfaces to press the lower extremity of the web a of the upper section a into firmer engagement with the web 29 of the lower extension 6.

Ihe sections may be assembled in such a manner that a length of the upper section a is secured equally to the abutting halves of two lengths of the lower section b as shown in Fig. 2, by whichit will be understood that each length of lower section is in like manner connected to the two abutting halves of two upper sections, by which arrangement a particularly convenient assembling of the composite rail in a continuous length is provided for.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is A compound rail comprising in combination a base, a vertical web carried by said base and having a longitudinal abutment adjacent to base, an abutment surface on the said base and inwardly inclined toward said web, a tread portion, a vertical depending web carried by said tread portion having a longitudinal abutment adjacent the tread portion contacting with the first mentioned web, an enlarged portion carried at the bottom of said depending web and having an inclined surface abutting the said inwardly inclined abutment surface of the said base and being proportioned to entirely support the tread and the inwardly inclined abutment surface being of the full width of said enlarged portion, and means for securing said webs against displacement, both of said webs being plane.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY TITUS WAKELAW.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for, five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1). C. 

